Career & Education

Former Petersfield High students stage reunion to build school gym

MONTEGO BAY, St James — High school reunions are usually about celebrating the successes of the institution, as much as they are to show off individual accomplishments. For the past students of Petersfield High School, however, the motive has become more noble.

When the past students' association stages its first reunion this weekend, from Friday, October 6 to Monday, October 9, the goal will be to raise funds for the building of a gymnasium for student athletes.

According to president of the association, Victoria Patterson-Young, the four-day event is expected to raise between $300,000 and $350,000.

“We start with a family fun day at the school on Friday at 9:00 am and end at 6:00 pm We will be having a lot of activities and a lot of giveaways. We will be having a netball competition with past students versus current students, dancing competitions, a bounceabout, and music by a popular sound system,” Patterson-Young reported.

“Saturday's activities will consist of a church service at Petersfield Seventh-day Adventist Church, followed by the reunion dinner at Negril Hills Golf Club, which will be preceded by cocktails. Our guest speaker will be Deputy Commissioner of Police Novelette Grant who is a past student of the institution,” she added.

The weekend's activities will continue with a beach party and cookout on Sunday, October 8, at Bluefields Beach Park, followed by a joint general devotional exercise on Monday morning, with the final event being an excursion to an attraction in neighbouring St Elizabeth.

“We have persons coming from England, USA and Canada, including Glenwright Sharpe, the reunion chairman.

Located in Westmoreland, Petersfield High School was established in 1970. The past students' association, which was formed approximately 20 years ago, meets monthly at the institution and provides support to the school's programmes, including its sporting activities.

In recent times, Petersfield has become a force to be reckoned with in track and field. Earlier this year, the girls' team placed 11th at the 2017 Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys and Girls' Championships, while the boys' team placed seventh. Also at the 2017 championships, Petersfield athlete Kevin Nedrick broke the javelin and shot put records.

In addition, six of Petersfield's athletes subsequently represented Jamaica at various international championships, including the Pan American Under-20 Championships in Peru; the Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, The Bahamas; and the IAAF Under-18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

— JIS

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